Annual Chest X-Rays Don’t Reduce Lung Cancer Death Rate

Yearly chest X-rays to screen for lung cancer do not reduce the death rate for the disease, a new study concludes.

The study of almost 155,000 adults, including smokers, former smokers and people who had never smoked, found deaths rates from lung cancer were similar in people who received annual chest X-rays for up to four years and those who did not. The group that did not have X-rays received standard medical care, including advice on smoking cessation. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed participants for 13 years to determine who developed lung cancer.

During the course of the study, 1,696 people who received chest X-rays were diagnosed with lung cancer, and 1,213 died from the disease. Among people who did not receive X-rays, 1,620 developed lung cancer and 1,230 died.

According to Bloomberg News, the researchers say their study provides definitive evidence that chest X-rays are not useful for early detection of lung cancer.